Chapter 819: Soul-Returning Claw

“Hm?”
Yu Yan effortlessly dealt with the group of scouts who fired flare signals. Happy soon sensed a sudden chill in the cool night air, then focused on scanning the surroundings. Finally, she noticed an unremarkable shadow approaching quietly from afar—almost unnoticed by her…
A shadow assassin?
Happy quickly dismissed this idea, as the newcomer’s aura was not as cautious as Yang Xuyan’s, and he seemed utterly unafraid of being discovered. Silencing the sound of his movement, he rushed forward like an arrow, with an exceptionally domineering presence.
“Xin! Back away!”
Happy detected a dangerous aura from the newcomer and didn’t dare delay. While ordering Yu Yan to leave, she sighed quietly:
As expected, underestimating the enemy commander was unrealistic.
Yet, to her surprise, this was the first time she had encountered such a formidable opponent—the man wore form-fitting soft armor, clearly a skilled warrior from the military, with a fierce expression, undoubtedly a master of the demonic sects! How many in the Mongol army could match such presence and dignity? Among the eight great masters of the demonic sects, who else could it be but the Demon General “Zhao Deyan”?
At full speed!
Before they could speak, a sharp cold wind blew towards them.
Alarmed, Happy instinctively sensed trouble and summoned her Golden Bell Shield!
Like a giant golden bell, it appeared out of nowhere, enveloping Happy.
Boom!!!
The golden bell trembled violently!
Amid the loud ringing, its golden surface emitted intense light, shining like a small sun, revealing everything around it.
But soon, five dark, sharp claw marks appeared on the bell’s surface, and the intense light dimmed rapidly.
Yu Yan was the only witness, observing closely…
Yet she still couldn’t see how Zhao Deyan had attacked.
But thanks to the secrets of the Golden Bell Shield, Happy not only managed to avoid Zhao Deyan’s vicious strike but also quickly pulled back to her side. She stared intently at the mysterious master who had failed to land a blow but was instead forced to retreat two steps, now standing ten meters away:
“It’s the Demon General!”
Happy’s calm demeanor somehow reassured Yu Yan.
The mysterious man spoke, his icy words carrying an inexplicable pressure that weighed heavily on people’s hearts:
“Kid, you’ve got some insight. No wonder you could dodge my ‘Soul-Returning Claw’ at such a young age…” Although Zhao Deyan said this, he restrained some of his wildness in his heart.

Although the previous attack didn’t utilize 100% of his strength, it still failed to unleash his advanced martial arts skills like “Dou Zuan Xing Yi.” Instead, he used mere peasant tactics to deal with himself.
“The Demon Marshal, as the advisor to the Khan and holding a high position, yet he went alone to the deserted grasslands in the dead of night—too hasty, isn’t it…”
These words seemed to be spoken out of concern for Zhao Deyan, but to him, they sounded like mockery:
“You brat! How bold of you! With just you and some girl from an ordinary sect, if you can escape from Grandpa Zhao’s grasp, it would already be a stroke of luck. How dare you talk nonsense… So arrogant!”
His pupils contracted as Happy realized that after Zhao Deyan finished speaking, his large purple cloak suddenly trembled abnormally.
Bang!
A fierce gust of energy struck his chest. His body shook, and under Yu Yan’s astonished gaze, Happy stepped into the ground, dragging two trenches over ten meters long and half a foot deep before stopping.
“Don’t come over! I’m fine.”
Raising his hand to stop Yu Yan, Happy tried to calm the turbulent energy in his chest while slowly wiping away a trace of blood from his lips, wearing a smile that made Zhao Deyan frown.
“ Truly worthy of being the second-in-command after the Evil King and Zhu Yuyan—the Demon Marshal’s moves are truly unique…” Happy’s words were laced with undisguised sarcasm.
Unperturbed, Zhao Deyan replied coldly, “…There’s no need for sarcasm. I’m from the demonic sect; my actions naturally won’t be like those of you self-proclaimed righteous disciples from prestigious schools. But it’s beyond my expectations that you could withstand my palm strike without dying or being seriously injured.”
“Just luck,” Happy said, lifting his chin slightly, his tone filled with sarcasm and arrogance.
Yu Yan, who knew Happy well, detected a hint of anger in his words—seemingly, Happy was already angered by Zhao Deyan.
…
In the underground base at the Beijing headquarters, the guy in glasses, Rimi, and a group of staff members stared intently at the screen where Happy and Zhao Deyan faced each other, their expressions varying.
“What just happened?”
The guy in glasses frowned deeply.
Although Happy seemed disheveled and at a disadvantage, everyone present was extraordinary and knew Zhao Deyan wouldn’t speak just to waste time. Something must have been different from what they saw…
At that moment, the man who seemed to be the supervisor tapped his wristwatch and replied without any expression:

“The ‘Soul-Returning Claw’ used by Zhao Deyan is a martial skill from the Heavenly Demon Strategy. Not only is its lethality immense, but it also possesses a subtle internal energy that harms enemies. During combat, it can directly damage a person’s heart meridians through palm force, significantly weakening the opponent—much like the ‘Breaking Wind’ effect of sword techniques.”
As soon as these words were spoken, the image on the screen zoomed in rapidly…
It focused on Zhao Deyan’s cloak. On the exquisitely luxurious purple cloak, two holes appeared out of nowhere, as if they had always been there.
“‘Converging Fingers’!”
The expressionless supervisor continued, “A secret technique of the Murong family. Its lethality isn’t astonishing, but its speed is extremely fast, and it operates silently, making it impossible to defend against. Zhao Deyan also fell victim to it.”
“…”
Hearing this, everyone present immediately understood—Zhao Deyan hadn’t pursued after landing his strike because he too had been hit by at least two blows from Happy’s fingers.
The crowd fell silent.
In fact, they had noticed movement in Zhao Deyan’s cloak when he attacked. Although they hadn’t detected the trajectory of the attacks, they had been somewhat alert. But aside from the supervisor, no one seemed to have realized when Happy had attacked or how Zhao Deyan had been hit.
The man in glasses quietly took off his glasses, wiped them, and put them back on, watching more intently…
…
Zhao Deyan’s hands remained hidden beneath his cloak, making it impossible to see his movements. But he no longer dared to attack rashly, as he realized that although the ‘Soul-Returning Claw’ could harm Happy, it wasn’t as serious as it seemed.
That damned kid, relying on his resistance to subtle palm forces thanks to the ‘Nine Yang Divine Skill,’ used the Nine Yang protection combined with ordinary defensive techniques to withstand all the palm force.
With a darkened gaze, Zhao Deyan firmly grabbed the purple cloak.
Whoosh!
With a single shake of his hand, the large cloak was twisted into a bundle! Held tightly in his hand like steel, a form-fitting black soft armor covered his entire body, looking like a demon descending from heaven…